First Move, Checkmate: How Will You Respond?

Chapter 50: I! M! GOD!

A white light shot up into the sky, grand and powerful, rippling like waves, illuminating the heavens.

Under the ferocity of this power, the academy was completely destroyed, even the last quartz slab was ground to dust.

People within the Royal Capital seemed to sense something, raising their heads to look towards the distant academy.

An astonishing pillar of light, like the sun breaking through the clouds.

The shock, akin to a nuclear explosion, left the mages at the scene utterly astounded.

Even though Victor had used a crystal to seal off the academy in advance, the energy that leaked out instantly bombarded the entire academy.

Fortunately, the range had been reduced, otherwise, everyone at the academy would have been obliterated.

If the barrier were to be broken at that moment, the resulting disaster would likely destroy a large portion of the Royal Capital.

However, some people who were too close to the magic were seriously injured by the explosion.

The pit was dozens of meters deep and surprisingly large in diameter.

The surrounding buildings were unrecognizable, the academy had vanished from the Royal Capital in an instant.

The demon, too, had disappeared.

Many of the mages, dragging their weakened bodies, trembled at the sight before them.

“What the…,”

“Where’s the academy?!”

“Was the academy blown up?!”

They were bewildered, yet the sense of emptiness in their bodies reminded them that what they were witnessing was real.

In the end, Victor had drained all the mana from the surrounding mages and unleashed this powerful spell that threatened the Royal Capital.

Human-shaped War Magic… In their minds, another title was added for Victor.

Victor stood in the pit, holding the unconscious Hennie in his arms.

Hennie wore a hood, so no one could see her face.

Many people saw Victor in the pit, all with bewildered expressions.

Victor, why is he holding another woman?!

Everyone’s attention was on Victor, no one noticed that within the pit, there was an ugly toad, hopping about.

It was covered in ink, struggling to crawl step by step, onto a charred body.

That was Devon Raser.

Under that terrifying magic, Devon Raser had astonishingly survived.

At the last moment, Yem had wrapped Devon Raser in its mouth, taking all the damage on itself.

Because Yem knew that if it wanted to continue existing, then Devon Raser could not die.

The toad crawled onto Devon, transforming into a stream of black ink that entwined around Devon Raser’s body.

Devon Raser stood up from the ground like a resurrected corpse.

His bones creaked and cracked, but they also seemed to be regenerating.

His eyes were blood-red, fixated on the students in front of him, his mouth dribbling with a foul-smelling fluid.

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Like a beast stripped of its sanity, it made threatening grunts, its head tilted, looking exactly like a wild animal.

“Isn’t that Professor Devon?! He’s not dead!”

“Yes! It’s Professor Devon!”

“No, something’s off about Professor Devon!”

One of them noticed the strange behavior of Professor Devon, voicing their confusion.

Soon, the people around began to notice something wrong with Devon.

“Devon Raser is indeed suspicious!”

“His appearance! Is he possessed by a demon?!”

As the title of Professor was stripped from him by the crowd, Devon naturally became the villain who was used and then possessed by a demon.

The truth behind all the conspiracy seemed to be revealing itself.

Devon Raser was that filthy demon!

The mages slowly raised their arms, preparing to pour all their remaining magic onto Devon Raser.

The outcome took everyone by surprise. Devon Raser merely cranked his head around, casting a threatening message at Victor:

“I will remember all of you.”

Suddenly, a black ink-like ripple emerged under his feet, swallowing Devon Raser into darkness, and he escaped.

Upon hearing Devon’s words, the mages couldn’t help but shudder. The feeling of being marked by a demon was akin to having a long iron spear piercing their hearts.

Their collective gaze turned to Victor, as it was he who had defeated the demon. If they were to utterly eradicate the threat, it seemed only Victor could do it.

However, at this moment, no one dared to command Victor.

Duke Rivierre hopped over the rubble to approach Victor. He looked down at Hennie, who was in Victor’s arms.

“This is…”

“My assistant. Devon Raser stole her knowledge to create the previous barrier formation.”

Duke Rivierre couldn’t hide his surprise.

Although he hadn’t been within the formation, he had naturally heard about it.

Half of the Third Order Mages in the Royal Capital had come to lend support, but no one could comprehend the intricacies of the formation, let alone break it.

It was Victor, along with a few mages, who had broken it from within.

“Your assistant is an exceptional genius.”

Victor turned his head away, ignoring Duke Rivierre’s compliments.

After this battle with the demon, Duke Rivierre’s animosity towards Victor had considerably lessened.

In any case, Victor had once again stepped up to protect the Royal Capital.

During the first volcanic eruption, no one knew what Victor had done, and a majority of the mages had begun to doubt him.

This time, however, the mages of the Royal Capital had seen everything with their own eyes.

Their admiration for Victor was immense, and no one would ever question his Fourth Order Mage abilities again.

Victor was frighteningly powerful, especially for someone so young.

Duke Rivierre sighed.

If it weren’t for Erica, perhaps he could have handled his relationship with Victor better.

Thinking this, the Duke shook his head. He didn’t want to consider this any further. His daughter was his bottom line.

He then said to Victor:

“After this incident, Devon Raser’s crimes will be definitively established, even if he is Your Majesty’s nephew.”

The implicit meaning of Duke Rivierre’s words was to assure Victor that he didn’t need to worry about committing a crime for harming a royal relative.

Even if this event had destroyed the entire academy, he was still a hero.

If this demon hadn’t been stopped, the losses would have been far greater than just an academy.

“But, Your Majesty won’t touch the Raser Family.”

Victor was not surprised at all.

The Raser Family was the Royal Family’s money-making machine, and the Emperor’s younger sister was the mistress of the Raser Family.

As long as they were willing to abandon Devon Raser, the Raser Family wouldn’t suffer any losses.

At worst, they would be labeled as poor disciplinarians.

Victor understood this well. Duke Rivierre was reminding him.

Regardless, he had already made an enemy of the Raser Family.

“Duke, I have enough enemies.”

With Hennie in his arms, Victor turned to leave.

As Victor was about to depart, Duke Rivierre reached out to stop him.

“By the way, Victor.”

“The demon didn’t die, but escaped. Could it possibly…”

He seemed worried that the demon might return, but Victor reassured him.

“It won’t die. It’s a ‘part’ of this world.”

Duke Rivierre paused for a moment, as if he thought of something but didn’t voice it.

“Doesn’t it resemble the Calamity? The Calamity is a part of the world’s elements, so it won’t die either.”

With a stern face, Duke Rivierre said in a low voice:

“Calamity? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Victor was quite satisfied with Duke Rivierre’s reaction, as if confirming something.

Victor looked at Duke Rivierre and gave a slight smile, the sense of amusement gradually reaching the Duke’s ears.

“I can only tell you that the demon is entirely different from the ordinary demons you have encountered.”

“He is the embodiment of greed.”

“As long as there are wise beings in the world, as long as they have greed, that creature will never die.”

“Even if one is exterminated, another will quickly resurrect and reappear.”

Duke Rivierre felt a chill run down his spine at these words.

“You should be grateful now that it didn’t die, but was crippled.”

With these words, Victor hugged Hennie and teleported out of the deep pit.

Duke Rivierre was somewhat dazed as he watched Victor’s disappearing figure, suddenly feeling a bit confused.

Where did the raven on Victor’s shoulder go?

……

Outside the forest, Devon Raser was running without stopping.

He had already run out of the Royal Capital, getting further and further away from the city.

He had to keep running, because he didn’t want to ‘disappear’.

Greed indeed wouldn’t disappear, but after Yem’s death, a new Yem would appear to replace it.

Correspondingly, memories, power, everything, would no longer be his.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”

“What kind of character is that mage! How did he know my name, how could he!”

Possessed by Yem, Devon Raser’s speech and behavior seemed to have all become Devon Raser’s.

If it wasn’t for survival, why would he possess such a waste?

And now it was actually starting to feel grateful, grateful that it hadn’t devoured this fat pig.

This fat pig also had enough greed, and this greed could serve as its nutrients to barely keep it moving.

Suddenly, Devon Raser stood still.

A strong chill climbed from his feet to the top of his head, leaving him unable to move.

The forest was silent, with only the rustling of leaves.

A black feather fell in front of him, and Devon Raser looked up sharply.

A small black raven appeared before his eyes.

It only had one eye, located on its forehead.

Devon Raser was stunned, somehow, he started to tremble all over, becoming afraid.

He himself was the demon!

He was the source of spreading fear, why would he fear a raven, why would he fear a little raven?

“Hello there, where are you going?”

The raven’s voice sounded out of nowhere beside him, causing Devon Raser’s body to shudder violently.

“Who are you!”

“Me?”

Suddenly, the raven laughed wickedly.

Its sharp, chattering laughter echoed throughout the dense forest.

As if darkness was about to completely engulf Devon.

Devon Raser blinked.

Almost in the blink of an eye.

The raven’s claws became huge and sharp, its feathers even glossier and tougher.

Black smoke slowly poured out of its body.

In the eyes of the demon, its body looked like a giant shadow covering the sky, looking down on Devon from above.

Its voice was no longer sharp, but deep and rhythmic.

A resonating sound rose from the abyss, causing the trees to shed their leaves and the birds to scatter.

Only its arrogant voice remained, traveling through the dense forest.

“I!”

“M!”

“GOD!”